Scottish Executive

Access for Disabled People

Mr Tom McCabe (Hamilton South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve access to taxi cab services for people with disabilities and whether it will consider grant aid schemes to increase the number of taxis operating that are able to accommodate disabled users.

Mr Andy Kerr: The taxi accessibility provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 will, when implemented, greatly improve the accessibility of taxis for people with disabilities. Responsibility for implementing these provisions is reserved to the Westminster Parliament. In the meantime, we have written to local authorities, offering informal advice as to the steps they can take to improve the accessibility of taxis in their area within the framework of the existing legislation. There are no general grants available to increase the number of taxis accessible to people with disabilities. However, if a case is put to us by the taxi trade for the introduction of such grants we will consider its merits.

Autism

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its review of initial teacher education will include appropriate training provision to ensure that the education of pupils suffering from autistic spectrum disorders reflects its mainstreaming policy.

Nicol Stephen: Scoping work to develop an appropriate remit for the second stage of the Review of Initial Teacher Education is currently being carried out. This will address all the key issues, including special education needs.

  The second stage of the review will be completed with the report available by the end of 2003.

Civil Service

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discretion it has in respect of the main elements of the senior civil service pay package introduced in April 2002 and whether it will give details of how any such discretion has been exercised.

Mr Andy Kerr: The pay band structure consists of three bands, but provided for a fourth to be used if departments perceived a need. The Scottish Executive decided to use all four bands as a way of providing more flexibility.

  The non-consolidated bonus pot was predetermined for all departments, although there was some flexibility on how it would be distributed. The Scottish Executive decided to award £3,000 or 3% of salary, whichever was the higher, to top-tranche performers and £2,000 or 3% of salary, whichever was the higher, to around 33% of the middle-tranche performers.

Emergency Planning

Janis Hughes (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to publish a smallpox action plan for Scotland.

Malcolm Chisholm: Since the tragic events of 11 September 2001, the Scottish Executive has been working with UK Government and relevant national and local bodies to strengthen plans against any deliberate release of biological agents, including smallpox.

  We have no evidence of a specific threat of a smallpox attack on Scotland, or any other part of the UK. However, it is sensible and prudent to ensure that NHSScotland can deal effectively with any potential threat.

  There are three components to the Executive’s preparation for response to a possible smallpox emergency: improved vaccine stocks, a plan of action and a cohort of immunised staff who could deal safely with any potential smallpox cases.

  Working with the UK Government, we have already taken action to substantially increase stocks of smallpox vaccine.

  The Executive is today publishing an interim plan of action for discussion and comment over the coming month. Under this plan, it is intended to establish Smallpox Response Groups on a regional basis around Scotland. They will consist typically of an infectious diseases physician, a paediatrician, a public health physician, an acute care nurse and an infection control nurse.

  This core group of perhaps 50 NHS staff in Scotland will need to be immune from smallpox and therefore able to react quickly and work safely with patients with actual or suspected smallpox. Preparations for the vaccination of these key workers are now under way. This will be on an entirely voluntary basis with informed consent. As such, while we are determined to implement these arrangements as quickly as possible, the precise numbers of health care workers to be vaccinated, and the timetable for vaccination, depend significantly upon the comments we expect following publication of the interim plan.

  The plan also explains how smallpox cases would be handled in various scenarios. The Executive’s primary strategy would be to contain and "ring vaccinate" around any outbreak. The teams of vaccinated health care staff are central to delivering this strategy.

  These plans are a practical precaution designed to ensure that Scotland is prepared for any possible smallpox emergency. They are in line with World Health Organisation advice and will be kept under active review.

Environment

Mr Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any additional resources will be made available in 2002-03 to enable local authorities to deal with contaminated and derelict land.

Ross Finnie: The Executive announced on 10 July the allocation of £3 million of end-year flexibility funding for cleaning up derelict and contaminated land that is creating health risks or causing blight on local communities. I am pleased to say that I am able to allocate a further £0.883 million to local authorities for this purpose in 2002-03 bringing the total to £3.883 million.

  The distribution of resources is shown in the table.

  
  Allocations 
for 2002-03(£000) 
Aberdeen City 18
 Angus 338
 Clackmannanshire
235  Dundee City
215  East Ayrshire
240  East Renfrewshire
30  Falkirk
164  Fife
120  Glasgow City
299  Inverclyde
742  Midlothian
182  North Ayrshire
315  North Lanarkshire
500  Perth and 
Kinross 261 
South Lanarkshire 224
 Scotland Total
3,883

European Union

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28026 by Mr Jim Wallace on 4 November 2002, whether it keeps records of which of its ministers and officials have attended European Union meetings and what information it is able to provide on such attendance.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Executive does keep records of attendance at EU meetings.

  I refer the member to the answers given to questions S1W-6228 on 9 May 2000, S1W-13367 on 29 March 2002, S1W-20175 on 5 December 2001, S1W-22493 on 25 February 2002 and S1W-31063 on 2 December 2002 regarding ministerial attendance; and to S1W-13370 on 2 May 2001 and S1W-31063 on 2 December 2002, regarding official attendance. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

European Union

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on publishing information on which of its ministers and the number, grade and department of officials that attend European Union meetings.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Executive publishes information about ministers’ attendance at meetings of the Council of the European Union through post-Council reports submitted to the European Committee. These become part of the Committee papers, which are public documents and are available on the internet at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/official_report/cttee/europe.htm .

  I refer the member to the answers given to questions S1W-13370 on 5 December 2001 and S1W-31063 on 2 December 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

   http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

European Union

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28026 by Mr Jim Wallace on 4 November 2002, whether, in terms of sections 1.1(b) and (d) of the Scottish Ministerial Code , disclosure of information regarding attendance at EU meetings is not in the public interest and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Executive does provide information on attendance at EU meetings.

  I refer the member to the answers given to questions S1W-6228 on 9 May 2000, S1W-13367 on 29 March 2002, S1W-20175 on 5 December 2001, S1W-22493 on 25 February 2002 and S1W-31063 on 2 December 2002 regarding ministerial attendance; and to S1W-13370 on 2 May 2001 and S1W-31063 on 2 December 2002, regarding official attendance. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

   http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has received about the extent to which the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea took into account the impact on white fish stocks when making recommendations for next year's industrial fishing total allowable catch limits

Ross Finnie: I have no information further to that in the recent Advisory Committee on Fishery Management report. I refer the member to the report and specifically to sections on haddock, whiting, sandeels and Norway pout.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish any up-to-date research on the location of the food supply for cod species in Scottish waters.

Ross Finnie: No. There is a wide corpus of published research on this subject indicating that cod prey on a wide range of species and feed in all areas where the stock is distributed.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a brief description of any new research relating to the current sea fisheries negotiations that it has requested either from internal or external sources during the last four weeks.

Ross Finnie: I have not commissioned new research. I have received scientific advice on a wide range of issues from Fisheries Research Services.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in relation to reducing the level of industrial by-catch of white fish stocks in Scottish waters or areas fished by Scottish vessels.

Ross Finnie: The industrial fisheries are an integral part of the Common Fisheries Policy. White fish by-catch limits in the industrial fisheries are established by EU regulations.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated by-catch of white fish has been by each of the industrial fisheries in Scottish waters or waters fished by Scottish vessels in each of the last 10 years.

Ross Finnie: ICES estimates of the by-catch of white fish (cod, haddock and whiting) in the combined Danish and Norwegian small-meshed (industrial fisheries) for sandeel and Norway pout in the North Sea as a whole are given in the following table.

  Estimated By-catch of Cod, Haddock and Whiting in the Danish and Norwegian Small-mesh Industrial Fisheries in the North Sea (Tonnes), 1992-2001

  

Year Cod
Haddock Whiting
 1992 1,024
11,000 27,000
 1993 1,052
11,000 20,000
 1994 876
 5,000 10,000
 1995 955
 8,000 27,000
 1996 366
 5,000 5,000
 1997 1,688
 7,000 7,000
 1998 1,281
 5,000 3,000
 1999 532
 4,000 5,000
 2000 383
 8,000 8,000
 2001 192
 6,000 7,000


  Source: ICES. 2002 Report of the Working Group on the Assessment of Demersal Stocks in the North Sea and Skagerrak.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the source, date and results of any research into the impact of the ban on sandeel fishing off the Wee Bankie on white fish stocks.

Ross Finnie: A copy of the recent report into the impact of the closure off the Wee Bankie compiled for the Commission by UK and Danish scientists has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 25356). The report does not focus upon the impact of the ban on white fish stocks as this was not the basis for the closure.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it sought any second opinion or external comment on the methodology used by the Fisheries Research Services (FRS) in relation to the most recent contribution by FRS to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea's advice.

Ross Finnie: No. The methodology is as agreed by ICES and was this year reviewed externally and approved by independent scientists from North America. FRS is at the forefront of developments in these analytical techniques.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish registered vessels are engaged in industrial fishery.

Ross Finnie: The term industrial fishery encompasses a wide range of fisheries destined for purposes other than human consumption. The most important industrial fishery to Scotland is the blue whiting fishery. Thirteen Scottish registered vessels landed significant tonnages of blue whiting into Scotland in 2001. Three Scottish registered vessels landed sandeels into Scotland in 2001. There were no significant landings of Norway pout.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcome has been of any discussions that have taken place with the Secretary of State for Scotland in relation to current fisheries negotiations in Europe.

Ross Finnie: I met with the Secretary of State for Scotland on 25 November to update her on the current position.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has forwarded the findings of the recently published Fisheries Research Services reports, Industry/Science Partnership 2001-2002 , Volume 1 Report of Scottish Trials Assessing the Selectivity of Trawls and Seines and Industry/Science Partnership 2001-2002 , Volume 2 Report on Biological Information Gathered from Scottish Fishing Vessels to European Commission officials and, if so, when the reports were forwarded and for the attention of which officials within the commission.

Ross Finnie: Yes; at our request, the UK Permanent Representation to the EU (UKRep) presented a formal copy of the report to the Commission on 22 November 2002.

  In anticipation of that, and the relevance of the associated data, UKRep had previously written to the Commission about associated details on 2 August 2002. Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department officials followed this up in discussion with the Commission in advance of the EU/Norway consultations held on 20 to 22 November 2002.

  Some of the results were also discussed within the wider scientific community, particularly at the ICES Advisory Committee on Fishery Management on 9 to 17 October 2002, which the Commission attended as observers.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of EU waters the Scottish zone represents.

Ross Finnie: There is no comprehensive definition of EU waters. The Scottish fishing zone is approximately 127,000 square nautical miles.

Fisheries

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Environment Protection Agency is currently undertaking any work with regard to the environmental impact of salmon farms and, if so, what the remit is of any such work and when any results will be published.

Allan Wilson: This is a matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), and while I am aware that SEPA is currently involved in a number of activities to assess environmental impacts, the information requested is not held in the Executive.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the enhanced checks and controls are that have been put in place as referred to in the debate on its response to the foot-and-mouth disease inquiries on 21 November 2002 ( Official Report , c 15674).

Ross Finnie: The following enhanced checks and controls have been introduced:

  a pig swill ban;

  the power of local authority staff to seize meat has been increased;

  better intelligence gathering and dissemination;

  sniffer dog trial at Heathrow airport;

  additional inspection staff and activities at ports and airports, and

  agreement with the European Commission in that the 1 kg personal allowance of meat imports will be removed from 1 January 2003.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Veterinary Laboratory Agency is expected to report on its detailed risk assessment as referred to in the debate on its response to the foot-and-mouth disease inquiries on 21 November 2002 ( Official Report , c 15674).

Ross Finnie: It is hoped that this report will be available before Christmas.

Health

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will invite the Health Technology Board for Scotland to consider the availability of MSPs to attend its seminars and briefings on Health Technology Assessments and Comments when the board is considering the most suitable time for such seminars.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Health Technology Board for Scotland (HTBS) has held seminars, briefings, consultation meetings and board meetings at a variety of times and in a range of locations. Additionally, the HTBS now makes videos of major meetings available to people who are unable to attend. The HTBS values feedback about the timing of its events and aims to be responsive to suggestions from interested parties, including MSPs. The HTBS very much welcomes interest in its work from MSPs and will continue its practice of informing them of all relevant meetings.

Modernising Government

Mr Tom McCabe (Hamilton South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the final outcome has been of the bids to the second round of the Modernising Government Fund; what projects will be supported under the fund, and what the outcomes of the projects will be in improving public services.

Mr Andy Kerr: I had previously announced to Parliament in May that the second round of the Modernising Government Fund had up to £30 million at its disposal. The challenge was for public sector bodies to use this fund to work together and form partnerships that would deliver Scotland-wide solutions to modernise our public services.

  I am pleased to announce today that the public sector across all of Scotland has reacted positively to this challenge, bringing forward proposals costing some £39.5 million. These proposals are cross-cutting and will support key policy objectives at both the national level and the local level. For that reason I have been able to look across the Executive and bring in £9.5 million of additional funding, underpinning the Executive's commitment to joined-up working and joined-up services.

  The key outcome is a co-ordinated approach to service delivery including:

  joint working between the Health Department and local authorities for the secure sharing of health and social work information, helping to deliver a single shared assessment process for elderly and children's services and reducing the need for multiple interventions;

  a 32 council partnership to develop youth services and a young persons smartcard and employing young people themselves in delivering services in a way that is meaningful to young people;

  a partnership of 21 councils will be working together to improve how they deliver services, to speed up customer transactions and to deliver better - measurable - outcomes for customers;

  a further 11 councils will lead the way in developing a Scotland-wide electronic citizen's card to improve access to education and transport services, and

  a local authority-led public sector partnership to deliver a standardised land and property database, reducing multiple records and helping to improve land and property management across Scotland.

Museums and Galleries

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what influence the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art should have on the economy of the arts sector.

Dr Elaine Murray: By acquiring works by living artists, the Gallery of Modern Art strengthens the reputation of those artists, though this does not necessarily have economic implications.

Prison Service

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received any information about any refinancing of the contract for HM Prison Kilmarnock by Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited and, if so, whether it will give details of such refinancing.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited advised the SPS in November 1999 that the possibility of financial restructuring/refinancing was being considered. Details of the outcome for the Home Office are shown in Figure 8 of the National Audit Office (NAO) report PFI Refinancing Update published on 7 November 2002.

  Similar arrangements were put in place in respect of HM Prison Kilmarnock. This matter was discussed with the Managing Director of KPSL at the Justice 1 Committee meeting on 30 October 2001.

  The NAO report is available on the NAO website at:

  www.nao.gov.uk/publications/nao_reports/01-02

  The minutes of the Justice 1 Committee meeting of 30 October 2001 (meeting number 29, 2001) are available on the Parliament’s website at:

  www.scottish.parliament.uk/official_reprt/cttee/just1-01.

Prison Service

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any subsequent financing agreement, as defined in section 1.1.105 of the Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited for the Design, Construction, Management and Financing of a Prison at Kilmarnock , has been entered into that did not require the Executive's prior written consent under section 3.2 of the minute of agreement for the reasons shown in section 3.3 and, if so, whether it will list each such subsequent financing agreements.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The SPS has no record of any such agreements.

Public Services

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how the £4 billion additional spending on public services up to 2005-06 as a result of the UK spending review has been, or will be, allocated and how much has been, or will be, allocated to the Renfrewshire Council area.

Mr Andy Kerr: Every area of Scotland will benefit for our plans for investing in Scotland over the next three years, as our budget rises to over £25 billion by 2005-06. As I have made clear, this investment will be matched by delivery on our priority targets - bringing better schools, more effective transport services, better health, lower crime and continued growth in opportunities for all. All of Scotland will benefit from the better public services that we will deliver.

  The resources committed to individual areas will depend on a wide range of detailed programme allocations, some of which have yet to be made. For example, the local government revenue and capital allocations for East Renfrewshire Council for the next three years were announced on 4 December. More details of the Executive’s other spending plans for the period up to 2005-06 were published in Building a Better Scotland: Spending Proposals 2003-06 on 12 September, and in The Scottish Executive: Draft Budget 2003-04: Detail on 31 October. And further details on individual programme allocations will be made in due course.

Regional Selective Assistance

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the 4,000 jobs planned to be created or safeguarded through Regional Selective Assistance have been, or will be, located in the Renfrewshire Council area.

Iain Gray: Following the publication of Regional Selective Assistance - Grant offers accepted April - September 2002 , which detailed the planned creation or safeguarding of over 4,000 jobs in Scotland, I can confirm that 997 of these planned jobs are expected to be located in the Renfrewshire Council area.

Scottish Executive Staff

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions its staff have (a) requested and (b) been granted permission to undertake local political activity in each year since 1999, broken down by grade.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is set out in the following table:

  
 Year Grade
Permission Granted 
1999 Nil
N/A  2000
1 x B21 x A3 YesYes
 2001 1 
x B2 Yes 
2002 1 x Fast Stream
Yes

Sexual Offences

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what programmes are available to people in secure accommodation that have been convicted of a sexual offence to help them address their behaviour.

Mr Jim Wallace: Information obtained from providers of secure accommodation indicates that in certain establishments offence-related and offence-specific work is being undertaken with offenders convicted of sexual offences or that this is in the process of being developed. This work includes addressing issues such as the identification of triggers and risk factors that contribute to sexually aggressive behaviour, the development of a personal development plan, cognitive skills training, offence analysis, violence reduction, victim empathy and relapse prevention.